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Bedford gets solar energy credits, revisits safety complex Bedford will earn almost $40,000 in renewable energy credits in the next year through its new solar array, through a contract with Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire that was approved by the Town Council on Wednesday.The array of nearly 1,600 panels near the town’s transfer station makes town facilities nearly self sufficient on energy, and the lack of electric bills results in lower taxes for residents.But the town will also make money through incentives and rebates.Assistant Town Manager Jeanne Walker said the town will earn renewable energy credits for every 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity produced by the solar panels per year.They are expected to produce 1.1 million kilowatt hours in the first year.These credits are then sold either to entities promoting the environment, or to businesses that are legally required to buy a certain percentage of their energy portfolio from clean sources.These requirements can be both state and federal laws.In New Hampshire, a renewable portfolio standard statute requires electricity providers to generate 22.2% of their energy from renewable sources, according to the state Department of Energy.“These credits are very similar to securitizing items you would sell through a financial instrument,” Town Councilor John Bator said.“It makes sense, and this is an excellent opportunity for the town to be able to take advantage of this and recoup some of the costs of rebuilding the facility.” Bedford paid for the construction of the solar array with a $3.2 million bond, which was sold at a premium for $2.9 million.This was enough to cover the construction costs, Walker said.Officials previously said they expect the solar array to pay off in less than 10 years, with the panels having a 30-year lifespan.Committee to revisit Bedford safety complex Also at Wednesday’s meeting, officials continued their efforts towards facilities upgrades.Bedford’s safety complex at 55 Constitution Drive is too small for a town of its size at about 30,000 square feet, officials said.When town staff moved into the building over 30 years ago, Bedford had about 12,500 residents.Since, the town’s population has almost doubled, and more emergency responders have been crammed into the building to meet town needs.It’s also the only fire station in town, serving a nearly 33-square-mile area.Bedford’s neighbors, including Goffstown, Merrimack and Londonderry, all have multiple fire stations for faster emergency response times.In this year’s town election, officials surveyed 2,343 voters on the issue and more than three-fourths of respondents agreed something should be done.Not everyone agreed on the best course of action, though.Officials still need to find a solution that satisfies all parties.A warrant article to build a new $36.5 million safety complex failed in 2024.Another proposal to leave the complex open while building a smaller $9 million facility as a second fire station also failed last year.Officials hope that forming a new facilities committee will help them reach a consensus.The group will consist of three Town Councilors, a Planning Board member and three Bedford residents.The Town Council interviewed five residents Wednesday but chose to wait to appoint three of them as citizen volunteers.Town Council Chair Phil Greazzo will appoint three councilors and the Planning Board will assign a member at subsequent meetings.Volunteers to serve on the committee included former Town Councilor Dave Gilbert, Christopher Petzke, Raymond Pieczarka, Judith MacLellan and Tom Lianza.New options for town facilities For some residents, the problem with the previous warrant articles was the location.The proposed project site was town-owned land at 200 S.River Road, near the Everett Turnpike and much industrial and residential development, but also on the far east side of town.In response to concerns from residents in west Bedford, town officials have started to float the idea of retrofitting the safety complex to exclusively serve the Police Department while building two new fire stations, one in the east and the other in the west.This was the most popular of four options presented to voters in March, with 839 residents supporting it in a survey.But the town hasn’t committed to a course of action yet.The other option would be upgrading the town offices at 24 N.Amherst St.and relocating public works employees there from the safety complex, making more space available for police and firefighters at Constitution Drive.Either way, the facilities committee will also need to determine the most affordable way for voters to pay for the work: one-time property tax assessments or bonds.